Project on waste management :

Group members :

INTRODUCTION :

INTRODUCTION Waste is an unwanted or undesired material or substance. It is also referred to as rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk depending upon the type of material and the regional terminology. In living organisms, waste relates to unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from them.
Waste management is the human control of the collection, treatment and disposal of different wastes. This is in order to reduce the negative impacts waste has on environment and society.

DEFINITIONS OF WASTE AND WASTE MANAGWMENT :

DEFINITIONS OF WASTE AND WASTE MANAGWMENT According to SEPA.. Waste Management Licensing Regulations, 1994.
Waste is defined as “a product which is no longer used in its primary role.. which the holder then intends to, or is required to, discard.”
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics.

Types of wastes :

landfill :

landfill Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying waste to dispose of it, and this remains a common practice in most countries.
A properly-designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing of waste materials.
Older, poorly-designed or poorly-managed landfills can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as wind-blown litter, attraction of vermin, and generation of liquid leachate.
Another common byproduct of landfills is gas (mostly composed of methane and carbon dioxide), which is produced as organic waste breaks down anaerobically.

incineration :

incineration Incineration is a disposal method that involves combustion of waste material.
Incinerators convert waste materials into heat, gas, steam, and ash.
. It is recognized as a practical method of disposing of certain hazardous waste materials (such as biological medical waste).
Incineration is common in countries such as Japan where land is more scarce, as these facilities generally do not require as much area as landfills.
Combustion in an incinerator is not always perfect and there have been concerns about micro-pollutants in gaseous emissions from incinerator stacks.

Waste handling and transport :

Waste handling and transport Waste collection methods vary widely between different countries and regions.
Domestic waste collection services are often provided by local government authorities, or by private industry.
In Australia, all urban domestic households have bins: one for recyclable materials, another for general waste and another for garden waste - which is provided by municipalities if requested.
In Europe and a few other places around the world, a few communities use a proprietary collection system known as Envac, which conveys refuse via underground conduits using a vacuum system.

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In Canadian urban centres curbside collection is the most common method of disposal, whereby the city collects waste and/or recyclables and/or organics on a scheduled basis.
In Taipei the city government charges its households and industries for the volume of rubbish they produce.
Waste will only be collected by the city council if waste is disposed in government issued rubbish bags. This policy has successfully reduced the amount of waste the city produces and increased the recycling rate.

WASTE MANAGEMENT CONCEPT :

WASTE MANAGEMENT CONCEPT There are a number of concepts about waste management which vary in their usage between countries or regions.
Diagram of the waste hierarchy.
Waste hierarchy - the waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimization.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy designed to promote the integration of all costs associated with products throughout their life cycle (including end-of-life disposal costs) into the market price of the product.

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Extended producer responsibility is meant to impose accountability over the entire lifecycle of products and packaging introduced to the market.
Polluter pays principle - the Polluter Pays Principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to the environment.
With respect to waste management, this generally refers to the requirement for a waste generator to pay for appropriate disposal of the waste.

RADIOACTIVE WASTES :

RADIOACTIVE WASTES Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. They are usually the products of nuclear processes, such as nuclear fission.
The majority of radioactive waste is "low-level waste", meaning it contains low levels of radioactivity per mass or volume.
This type of waste often consists of used protective clothing, which is only slightly contaminated but still dangerous in case of radioactive contamination of a human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection.
In the United States alone, the Department of Energy states there are "millions of gallons of radioactive waste" as well as "thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel and material" and also "huge quantities of contaminated soil and water.

The nature and significance of radioactive wastes :

The nature and significance of radioactive wastes Radioactive waste typically comprises a number of radioisotopes: unstable configurations of elements that decay, emitting ionizing radiation which can be harmful to human health and to the environment.
The radioactivity of all nuclear waste diminishes with time.
The faster a radioisotope decays, the more radioactive it will be. The energy and the type of the ionizing radiation emitted by a pure radioactive substance are important factors in deciding how dangerous it will be.
This is further complicated by the fact that many radioisotopes do not decay immediately to a stable state but rather to a radioactive decay product leading to decay chains.

TYPES OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES :

TYPES OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES Removal of very low-level waste
Low level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters, etc., which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity.
High level waste (HLW) is produced by nuclear reactors. It contains fission products and transuranic elements generated in the reactor core.
Transuranic waste (TRUW) as defined by U.S. regulations is, without regard to form or origin, waste that is contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranic radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years, and concentrations greater than 100 nCi/g (3.7 MBq/kg), excluding High Level Waste.

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING RADIOACTIVE WASTES :

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING RADIOACTIVE WASTES A number of incidents have occurred when radioactive material was disposed of improperly, shielding during transport was defective, or when it was simply abandoned or even stolen from a waste store.
At Maxey Flat, a low-level radioactive waste facility located in Kentucky, containment trenches covered with dirt, instead of steel or cement, collapsed under heavy rainfall into the trenches and filled with water.
The scavengers and those who buy the material are almost always unaware that the material is radioactive and it is selected for its aesthetics or scrap value.

Mangement of plastic waste :

Mangement of plastic waste A MARVEL of polymer chemistry, plastics have become an indispensable part of our daily life.
The importance of this sector to the national economy can be gauged from the fact that the domestic demand is expected to cross 4 million tonnes by 2001-2002, confirming plastics as the material of choice in numerous applications due to depletion of already scarce natural resources.
The Government of Himachal Pradesh was one of the earliest to introduce legislation prohibiting the throwing or disposing of plastic articles in public places.
Recycling of plastic waste is a major activity in India through which thousands of families earn a livelihood.

Types of plastics :

Types of plastics There are about 50 different groups of plastics, with hundreds of different varieties. All types of plastic are recyclable.
Polyethylene terephthalate(PET) - Fizzy drink bottles and oven-ready meal trays.
High-density polyethylene(HDPE) - Bottles for milk and washing-up liquids.
(PVC)Polyvinyl chloride - Food trays, cling film, bottles for squash, mineral water and shampoo.
(LDPE)Low density polyethylene - Carrier bags and bin liners.
(PP)Polypropylene - Margarine tubs, microwaveable meal trays
(PS)Polystyrene - Yoghurt pots, foam meat or fish trays, hamburger boxes and egg cartons, vending cups, plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys.
OTHER plastics- Any other plastics that do not fall into any of the above categories. - An example is melamine, which is often used in plastic plates and cups.

Benefits of plastics :

Benefits of plastics Extreme versatility and ability to be tailored to meet very specific technical needs.
Lighter weight than competing materials, reducing fuel consumption during transportation.
Extreme durability.
Resistance to chemicals, water and impact.
Good safety and hygiene properties for food packaging.
Excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties.
Relatively inexpensive to produce.
One tonne of plastics is equivalent to 20,000 two litre drinks bottles or 120,000 carrier bags.

Uses of plastics :

Uses of plastics Packaging represents the largest single sector of plastics use in the UK.
The sector accounts for 35% of UK plastics consumption and plastic is the material of choice in nearly half of all packaged goods.